18 Days African Gorilla Safari – Rwanda and Uganda Adventure
The 18-day Uganda and Rwanda safari starts and ends at Entebbe International Airport (EBB). The safari will expose you to primates such as the rare mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, as well as wildlife in game parks.
Trip Summary
Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe International Airport
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Day 3: Boat Cruise, Chimpanzee Trekking in Kaniyo Pabidi
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale National Park
Day 5: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest
Day 6: Drive to Semliki Wildlife Reserve
Day 7: Chimpanzee Trekking at Semliki National Park
Day 8: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 9: Chimp tracking
Day 10: Have an early morning game drive
Day 11: Depart for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Day 12: Connect to Rwanda
Day 13: Mountain Gorilla tracking in Parc National des Volcans
Day 14: Kigali City Tour
Day 15: Return to Uganda – Lake Bunyonyi
Day 16: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
Day 17: Drive to Kampala – Jinja (Optional White Water Rafting
Day 18: Return to Kampala – Entebbe – Departure
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Day 3: Boat Cruise, Chimpanzee Trekking in Kaniyo Pabidi
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale National Park
Day 5: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest
Day 6: Drive to Semliki Wildlife Reserve
Day 7: Chimpanzee Trekking at Semliki National Park
Day 8: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 9: Chimp tracking
Day 10: Have an early morning game drive
Day 11: Depart for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Day 12: Connect to Rwanda
Day 13: Mountain Gorilla tracking in Parc National des Volcans
Day 14: Kigali City Tour
Day 15: Return to Uganda – Lake Bunyonyi
Day 16: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
Day 17: Drive to Kampala – Jinja (Optional White Water Rafting
Day 18: Return to Kampala – Entebbe – Departure
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe International Airport (EBB)
African Jungle Adventures Ltd safari guide will give you a warm welcome, brief you about your safari, and thereafter transfer you to Kampala for your accommodation at Kampala Serena Hotel, Cassia Lodge, or Karibu Guest House in Entebbe.
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
After breakfast at your hotel, your tour guide will pick you up and transfer you to Murchison Falls National Park. Enjoy the 5-hour drive to the park. You will make a stopover at Masindi town for lunch, then continue through the park and stop at the top of the falls, which is a fantastic sight where the world’s longest river perfects its beauty, then proceed by taking a ferry across the river to Paraa Safari Lodge or Pakuba Safari Lodge with lots of game viewing en route, dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Boat Cruise, Chimpanzee Trekking in Kaniyo Pabidi
Breakfast, then enjoy a morning boat cruise to the bottom of the falls; later, connect to Budongo Forest for afternoon chimpanzee tracking in Kaniyo Pabidi. It is a calm area of natural forest within Budongo Forest Reserve, where you move under mature mahogany and ironwood trees. It is the most famous activity for seeing many forest birds, including the chocolate-backed Kingfisher, the white-thigh hornbill, and Puvell’s illadopsis, found nowhere else in East Africa. Retire for dinner and overnight at Budongo Eco Lodge.
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale National Park
After your breakfast, we shall hit the road to Kibale National Park with your packed lunch, as the drive lasts between 6 and 8 hours, and you will pass close to Lake Albert. Dinner and overnight at Ndali Lodge, Mountains of the Moon, or Papaya Lake Lodge.
Day 5: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest
Breakfast is followed by a briefing from the ranger station at 08.00 am on tracking the happy apes, which are more closely related to humans than any other living creature and are a must-watch as they squabble and play in the trees. Kibale forest hosts 13 species of primates, including red colobus monkeys, the rare L’hoest, blue monkeys, grey mangabeys, pottos, black-faced vervet monkeys, baboons, and bush babies.
A network of shady forest trails offers much to delight botanists and butterfly lovers, while birders can enjoy watching a variety of birds, including the endemic Prirogrine’s ground thrush, part of the 335 species recorded. The indescribable forest elephant, smaller and hairier than its savannah counterpart, moves seasonally into the developed part of the park, while other terrestrial mammals include buffalo, gigantic forest hog and a half dozen antelope species. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Drive to Semliki Wildlife Reserve – Night Game Drive
Wake up early in the morning and depart by road to Semliki Wildlife Reserve; this scenic drive will take you down the eastern side of Lake Albert. Semliki Reserve is situated in the Western Rift Valley basin. It is one of the most diverse habitats in Africa, with wonderful examples of Riparian forest, gallery rain forest, Borassus palm forest, and short- and high-grass savannas. Chimps live alongside elephants, lions, and buffalo, as well as the usual western Uganda species.
After dinner, you will go on a night game drive. This is the only place in Uganda where you can do a spotlit night drive. Often, the big cats are sighted, as are the diminutive genet and several other cats. Unusual night-time dwellers also appear, such as the white-tailed mongoose and the slender mongoose, and the standard and pennant-winged nightjars, depending on the time of year. There are always surprises on the night drives. Overnight at Semliki Safari Lodge, Ntoroko Game Lodge, Nyati Game Lodge, Kirimia Guest House, or Sempaya Rest Camp.
Day 7: Chimpanzee Trekking at Semliki National Park
Wake up early in the morning, have breakfast in your tent, and then go down into the beautiful gallery rainforest to track wild chimpanzees. Chimps are usually tracked by researchers in Semliki at dawn and dusk, because they tend to disappear in the middle of the day. There are also a number of bird species which are found in this forest. You will return to the lodge for lunch, relax by the pool, and enjoy the harmony of the Lodge. In the late afternoon, you will go for a game drive, stopping along the way to watch the African sun dip below the horizon. Overnight at your previous Lodge.
Day 8: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Have a cup of tea/coffee, then drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park via the Northern Crater Area. With fine-looking lakes and rich grasslands which are set deep in the crater valley, this is truly the most astounding viewpoint in the park. The park hosts a wide variety of wildlife and boasts one of the highest biodiversity ratings of any game park in the world, ranging from the open Savannah to rainforest, thick swamps, and gorgeous crater lakes, to the vastness of Lake Edward. The park has over 606 species of birds, including the buttonquail, martial eagle, black-rumped Verreaux’s eagle, eagle owl, and African skimmer, to name a few. The park’s primates include Chimps, Black-and-white Colobus Monkeys, Blue, Black-Faced Red Colobus, Red-Tailed Monkeys, and Olive Baboons. After checking in and relaxing briefly, you will go on an afternoon game drive to spot Elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, hippos, and more. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge, Enganzi Lodge or Songbird Safari Lodge.
Day 9: Chimp tracking in Kyambura Gorge
Breakfast is followed by chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura Gorge, where you will spot various primates, mainly Chimpanzees of various species, Black-and-white Colobus monkeys, and animals like antelopes, hyenas, and lions in the savanna grassland. This narrow valley is home to many bird species. A nature walk in Maramagambo Forest follows lunch; here, expect to see primates and visit the bat cave and the blue lake. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight, as on day 8.
Day 10: Game drive & Boat Cruise
Breakfast is followed by an early morning game drive in the park, which will award you with a superb chance to see Cape Buffaloes, Elephants, Lions, Leopards, Giant Forest Hogs, Defassa Waterbucks, Uganda Kobs, Topi, Bushbucks and many others. Return to the lodge for lunch, then enjoy a 2-hour boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel and into Lake Edward. The cruise passes through the highest concentration of hippos, and many animals are seen drinking at the water’s shore. This Boat has a clear platform for photography and viewing. While on the boat, expect to see a variety of birds and animals. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge, Enganzi Game Lodge or Bush lodge.
Day 11: Depart for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Breakfast, then transfer to the home of the Mountain gorillas. However, we shall move with our packed lunch. We shall move through the Ishasha sector to have a clear view of the tree-climbing lions; however, they are seen by lucky visitors because they move freely in their natural habitat. Birds and primates in Bwindi are quite fabulous, and there is an unbelievable variety of birds. Bwindi is the birdwatcher’s retreat, as it hosts 348 bird species and supports 24 of the 26 Albertine Rift Endemics found in Uganda. Dinner and overnight at Mahogany Springs Lodge, Gorilla Mist Camp, Rushaga Gorilla Camp or Chameleon Hill Lodge.
Day 12: Cross to Rwanda – Cyanika Border
From Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, we shall cross to Rwanda through the Chanika border. We shall enjoy the rolling hills of Rwanda en route and proceed to Volcanoes National Park, known for hosting mountain Gorillas. Lunch will be en route, and dinner will be at Bisate Lodge, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge, or Muhavura Lodge.
Day 13: Mountain Gorilla tracking in Parc National Des Volcans
In the morning, after breakfast, go to the gorilla sanctuary of Parc National des Volcans, the rain tropical forest covering the hills surrounding Virunga Volcanoes. The trek is challenging but rewarding. Ensure you carry enough drinking water and a packed lunch. Your time in the forest depends on the primates’ movements in their natural environment. After the activity, drive to Lake Kivu near the DR Congo Border, relax at the beach as we wait for dinner and overnight at Serena Hotel or Hotel Paradise Malahide.
Day 14: Optional boat cruise on Lake Kivu, transfer to Kigali.
A relaxed morning, followed by a transfer to Kigali for a city tour, visits to genocide sites such as Gisozi, and local art and craft shops. All meals and overnight at Serena Hotel, Hotel Des Mille Colin, or Urban Boutique Hotel.
Day 15: Return to Uganda (Katuna Border) to Lake Bunyonyi
Breakfast and drive to Lake Bunyonyi, which lies at an altitude of approximately 2000m, and it follows the contours of the hilly terrain that separates the towns of Kabale and Kisoro. It is a very beautiful spot, dotted with small islands and ringed by steep terraced hills. Bunyonyi locally means a place of little birds, and it is particularly good for water birds. Overnight at Lake Bunyonyi Overland Camp, Bunyonyi Rock Resort or Bird Nest Resort (FB)
Day 16: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
Enjoy your breakfast, and thereafter, we shall depart for Lake Mburo National Park. Drive through some of Uganda’s finest scenery. The Park is an extension of the Tanzanian plains, home to large herds of zebra, impala, eland, and other ungulates. For birding, it is one of the best places to find African fin-footed and papyrus bush shrike. Check in at the camp and relax for a little while before going in a bunker canoe on the lake. Dinner and overnight at Mihingo Safari Lodge, Arcadia Cottages or Mburo Safari Lodge (FB)
Day 17: Drive to Kampala – Jinja (Optional White Water Rafting)
After breakfast, you will depart for Jinja and then head straight there, passing Mabira Forest, Tea and Sugar plantations, and colourful roadside fruit/vegetable markets. You will continue to the source of the Nile, a spot where John Speke first discovered the source of the Nile River. You will continue to Jinja Nile Resort/Sunset Hotel, where you will be staying. In the early evening, you will rest by the side of the swimming pool.
Day 18: Return to Kampala – Entebbe – Departure
After breakfast, you will return to Kampala and be driven straight to Entebbe International Airport for your flight back home.
Tour Inclusions
Gorilla trekking permits
Golden Monkey permit
Bottled drinking water
Ground transport
Full-time English guide
Accommodation and meals
Miscellaneous
All activities in the itinerary
Gorilla trekking permits
Golden Monkey permit
Bottled drinking water
Ground transport
Full-time English guide
Accommodation and meals
Miscellaneous
All activities in the itinerary
Tour exclusions
Alcoholic beverages
Tips
Porter fees
Extra activities
Visa fees
International flight
Alcoholic beverages
Tips
Porter fees
Extra activities
Visa fees
International flight
